Tag: Sean Smith

The Miami Dolphins are still awaiting news on Jake Long and are still said to be hosting Dustin Keller in Davie, FL. However, news may be picking up soon. This afternoon, @ProFootballTalk tweeted that the Dolphins are hosting a visit with free agent defensive end, Michael Bennett. Bennett is thought by some to be the best available ‘young pass rusher’ available on the market. Bennett has been with the Tampa Bay Bucs for the last 4 years and last year he registered 9 sacks from the left defensive edge position.

Photo Courtesy of Jeffrey Beall via Wikipedia

The left defensive edge position could be important. Because that’s also the position that Cameron Wake plays. According to @ckparrot, statistics show that Wake is about half as effective from right defensive end than from the left side. So, could the Dolphins be considering signing Bennett to play the right side? We don’t know at this point. For a further look at Bennett, check out this article from Rotoworld.

I think it’s safe to say that Day 2 of free agency wasn’t quite as exciting as Day 1. On Day 1, the Dolphins added Mike Wallace, Dannell Ellerbe, and Philip Wheeler, while resigning Chris Clemons. They also cut ties with Karlos Dansby and Kevin Burnett. On Day 2, the Dolphins spoke with players and most notably, brought in Dustin Keller for a visit. Perhaps the Dolphins lack of transactions has to do with them waiting on Jake Long and Sean Smith. Each situation is fluid, but it seems like we will have some clarification on each by this time tomorrow.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Jake Long

Long spent almost all day yesterday taking a physical with the Rams. Due to his recent injuries, the Rams want to be 100% sure that they are not getting an injured player, if the two sides agree to terms. The Rams took Jake and his wife Jackie out to dinner last night, which Jackie tweeted, was ‘great’. There were reports yesterday afternoon that turned out to be false, claiming that Jake and the Rams had agreed on a deal.

Meanwhile, according to Armando Salguero, the Dolphins still believe they have a chance to retain Long, but they are only willing to do so at their price. It seems like the situation is drawing to a close and I would expect a decision by the Longs at some point today. If Long decides to sign with the Rams, you can expect the Dolphins to quickly make a move for Eric Winston, who is said to be in Miami (so he’s not too far away, Mr. Ireland!). (cont’d on page 2, click here)

Dolphins fans, stay away from the internet until 4pm today. Otherwise, you’re going to drive yourself crazy. Trust me, I think I’m almost there. Rumors, speculation, false reports, and smokescreens are rampant right now. However, once the 4pm start of free agency arrives, we can FINALLY expect to start hearing some ‘real’ news. This post will act as the running newsfeed for the latest Dolphins news today. Be sure to check back on this post often!

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

I’ve been on Twitter all day, monitoring all of the craziness, so here is what we know as of this moment:

The Miami Dolphins have been saving their pennies for this offseason and the time for talk is over. At midnight last night, the 3 day window that allows the Dolphins and other NFL teams to speak with players’ representatives, finally got under way. The Dolphins can speak only with the players’ representatives and not the players themselves. The NFL issued a memo yesterday, explaining the rules of this window that ends on Tuesday at 4pm. Teams can speak with players’ agents about the framework of a deal, but no deal can be committed to, otherwise, it is considered tampering.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Try to understand the logic in that. An agent can speak with multiple teams, create a bidding war that essentially goes on until Tuesday (at least). AND, if an agent gets the deal he/she wants for their player, they are not allowed to agree to it with the team. RIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT! This is the reason we won’t hear much about who the Dolphins are talking to. Everything is being kept as quiet as possible for fear of tampering. The NFL may keep trying to limit tampering, but everyone knows that tampering takes place quite a bit at the NFL Combine.

The Miami Dolphins have a few hours left to decide whether or not they will use their franchise tag on one of their own soon-to-be free agents. Some have speculated that Jake Long or Sean Smith might get ‘tagged’. However, Long’s salary would be over $15 million for 2013 and Smith’s would be over $10 million. That’s too much for either of those 2 players. Long is looking for a contract around $11 million per season, but it seems that the Dolphins want no part of that type of deal for a player that has finished the last 2 seasons on injured reserve. Smith, although a starting corner, has not lived up to his potential that we constantly hear about.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

That leaves us with Randy Starks. Starks is 1/2 of the Dolphins twin towers that plug up the middle of the defense. Soliai and Starks helped the Dolphins limit opposing running games for the majority of last season. Though the Dolphins run defense struggled down the stretch, we saw how dominant those two could be in the middle of the field. Starks is not a pass rusher, but he’s not meant to be. He’s the type of guy that every team needs, he’s the guy that does the dirty work on the defensive line. Starks’ solid play earned him a trip as a replacement to this year’s Pro Bowl. His good play has not gone unnoticed. (cont’d on page 2, click here)

The Miami Dolphins don’t seem to be in too big of a rush to resign Sean Smith. However, it seems that Smith might be antsy to find a new team as soon as free agency opens on March 12th. Typically, when you get NFL players, agents, coaches, and general managers in the same place (The Combine), there will be a lot of behind the scenes discussions that take place. Now, those behind the scenes discussions are not allowed to take place between teams and players that are under contract with other teams. That includes players that are just 2 weeks away from free agency….Players like Sean Smith.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

The Dolphins have had preliminary talks with Smith about the CB resigning with the Dolphins. However, Smith is said to be valuing himself over $9 million per season. The Dolphins are not willing to pay that for a player who has potential, but has not realized that potential yet.

The Miami Dolphins are poised to go on a bit of a shopping spree, once the March 12th Free Agency period opens. As of this moment, the Dolphins have roughly $45 million to spend on resigning their own free agents and acquiring free agents that will hit the market on March 12th. We can only guess as to what the Dolphins plan for the upcoming offseason will be, but we are beginning to hear rumblings about what the team is thinking.

Photo Courtesy of Jeffrey Beal via Wikipedia

According to both the Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald, the Dolphins plan to make Mike Wallace the team’s primary target this offseason. Wallace is expected to become a free agent on March 12th, as the Steelers are not expected to place the franchise tag on him. This means that Wallace will likely be playing for the highest bidder. Reports last week indicated that Wallace might join the Browns, who have close to $50 million in cap space. However, I think he’ll ultimately end up playing for whomever offers him the most money.

The clock is ticking on the Miami Dolphins relationship with their former #1 overall pick, Jake Long. The Dolphins must decide before March 4th if they want to use their franchise tag on Long, resign him, or let him enter free agency on March 12th. First, I don’t see anyway that the Dolphins use the franchise tag on Long, as it would pay him over $15 million in 2013. So cross that possibility off the list. So Long will either resign with the Dolphins or they’ll let him test free agency.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

The Dolphins and Long have exchanged contract numbers, but from what we hear, the two sides are not close to a deal. In a phone interview earlier today, Long expressed his appreciation for the Dolphins organization and the fan base. He went on to say that he’d like to return to Miami, but at this point “it’s essentially on them”. Reports earlier this offseason indicated that Long was seeking a deal worth $10 million per season. And given that quote, it doesn’t sound like he’s planning on lowering his expectations any time soon.

Finally, Dolphins fans, we have entered the working part of the Dolphins offseason. Granted, the Dolphins can’t sign unrestricted free agents from other teams just yet, but the Dolphins will start making decisions that will impact the 2013 roster. Today is the first day in which teams can ‘tag’ their own players. Teams can either use the ‘Franchise’ or ‘Transition’ tag on one of their own, soon to be free agents. Some have suggested that Jake Long and Sean Smith could each be a candidate for receiving such a tag from the Dolphins. I think we all realize that Jake won’t be getting the Franchise tag, because it would pay him more than $15 million for 2013. Quite frankly, the Dolphins cannot possibly value Jake’s ability, at this point of his career, THAT highly.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

This morning on Twitter, I saw Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post speaking about franchising Sean Smith. Ben didn’t advocate it, but said it was a possibility. To put it bluntly, if the Dolphins choose to use the franchise tag on Sean Smith, Jeff Ireland needs to have his head examined. If the Dolphins decided to franchise Sean Smith, the cost would be $10.677 million for the 2013 season. That means that Sean Smith would earn a full 1/12 of the Dolphins TOTAL salary cap for 2013. He’s not worth it.

The Miami Dolphins have to make some tough decisions in the near future regarding their own players. One player, that I’ve found to be pretty polarizing with the fan base is Sean Smith. Some Dolphins fans think Smith is worth of a Pro Bowl birth, while others think the Dolphins should move on from the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Personally, I’m in between, but reside closer to the side that wants the Dolphins to move on. The problem I see, is finding a suitable replacement when there is absolutely zero depth at that position on the roster. We’ll get to Sean Smith another time, but for now we want to share with you our thoughts on the possibility of Derrelle Revis being Sean Smith’s replacement. One of our loyal readers (Miami Jules) posed the question to us yesterday on Twitter. We couldn’t explain everything in 140 characters, so we decided to write a post about it! By the way, if you have an idea for a post, let us know (phinnationblog@gmail.com)

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Put simply, it’s not happening. When healthy, Derrelle Revis is the best corner in the NFL. He’s an All-Pro type of player. I don’t think he’s Deion Sanders, but he’s the best cornerback in the NFL today. Well, when reports surfaced yesterday that the rebuilding Jets will look to trade Revis, Dolphins fans immediately started thinking about Revis wearing Aqua and Orange (or whatever color the new logo ends up being). I’m not going to say it’s 100% not going to happen, but I’d say it’s 99.9% not going to happen.